Did You See?
by abrynne
Summary: The people of Gotham are so naive to believe the police and the newspapers that an actual human being dresses up as a bat and saves the lives of Gotham citizens. From the point of view of a recently moved in resident, it all is quite ridiculous actually.
1. Chapter 1 Rumors and Wings

Chapter 1 – Rumors and Wings

The chatter took a while to die down and allow her to regain control of her classroom again. More reports and "I heard's" were continuing to bounce through the room from student to student until the reports became redundant.  
"I heard that he came in from the ceiling!" one girl with brassy colored hair was saying to the girl next to her.

"No! He used that _awesome_ car he's got and burst through the wall of the bank. I saw a picture of it in the paper."  
"There was a big hole in the wall! My friend Derek's dad is a cop and he got there after it all happened."

That report came from a short boy with blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. His words silenced the class for the moment and all eyes were on him.  
"Did his dad see him? Does he really have the wings?"  
The boy shook his head, "Batman was already gone before – "

"Alright, alright you guys. That's enough. I can't believe that the crime in this town gets so much attention from people your age. T.V. and video games are one thing but, honestly." She said trying to avoid rolling her eyes. "You guys should be more concerned about dating, blogging, and…I don't know, Justin Timberlake."  
The brassy haired girl spoke up again with her naturally projecting tones, "Miss D., that's the only time he shows up anywhere – when there's a crime going on somewhere."

Miss Dridgel, or Miss D. as her students called her, focused her normally kind brown eyes on the brassy haired girl. "These are such incredible ghost stories. I know they're fascinating and exciting but I also know you guys are smart enough to realize that all they are really are ghost stories." She adjusted her square rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose and pulled a stray hair back into the bun at the back of her head.

The entire class stared up at her with wondrous, and disbelieving eyes. A young man in the back with freckles over his nose and sandy brown hair spoke up, "They're not stories, Miss D. My friend saw him."  
Miss Dridgel sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, "You know I knew it would be different for me, moving to Gotham but I had no idea I'd have to deal with something like this. I love how you guys are so interested in what's going on around you but this is getting a little out of hand."

The entire class erupted again and it took another twenty minutes for them to settle down and accept the fact that their Miss Dridgel, as nice and as pretty as she seemed to be, was still new to Gotham City and refused to believe in such a fantastic creature as a man who flies about at night and saves innocent people from the forces of evil.

She had been dealing with these outbursts from her students since she began teaching at Wayne High. It was interesting, though, to see how such a good thing could have a positive influence on her young freshmen classes. So far, Lisa Dridgel had heard several different rumors about the said Batman. He was over seven feet tall all muscle as reported from some of her male students; he could fly and zap your brain with just looking into your eyes; he had a sexy voice (how anyone came to know that was certainly a mystery) and really did hang upside down like a real bat when he slept.

So many theories, rumors, and ideas about this mysterious and unfathomable _idea_ had met Lisa's ears since she came to Gotham about a month and a half ago and she came up with one conclusion about it. This Batman had been invented by the media, perhaps even the police force itself simply to add a mystery and perhaps entertainment value to the simple fact that Gotham was finally cracking down on its criminals and succeeding. Lisa had done her research and that fact helped her make the decision to take her teaching job in Gotham though it still scared the life out of her small town parents and family members.

"You'll see soon Miss D.," the boy in the back row said after the young voices died down again and Lisa had asked them to take out their text books. "Batman is real."  
"He certainly sounds real, Jacob," Lisa said in a tone that was kind but insisted the subject be closed.

Not a day went by that Miss Lisa Dridgel didn't hear about the Batman or the Dark Knight or the incredibly sexy mental case as her recently found friend, Mr. Andrew Stale had joked.  
Andrew Stale taught some of the advanced math classes for the upper classmen and met Lisa at the first staff meeting a week before school started. Lisa was not only the new teacher on staff but a new teacher who was a woman willing to teach in Gotham City. He made certain he spoke to her on the first day just to find out her motivations for purposefully moving to the most dangerous city in the country if nothing else.

That day, Lisa was meeting Andrew for lunch and maybe a little advice on the side. After all, he had grown up in Gotham and knew the people better but as far as she was concerned the entire city of Gotham was filled with mental cases.  
She sat down huffily in the wooden chair in front of his desk in the messy and dusty office. Andrew took off his glasses as she set her salad on his desk and crossed her legs. "What'd they do?"

Lisa glanced up at him and shrugged, "No, they were fine today, Drew. No problem at all. I think they're finally warming up to me."  
"You do remember you're still teaching at a high school in Gotham, right?" he joked as he leaned back in his creaky desk chair. "What is it then?"  
"What do you think about this whole Batman thing?" Lisa said, leaning forward and resting her elbows on his desk. "Do you think there's a real person going around the city fighting crime like in one of those Saturday morning cartoons?"

Andrew chuckled and folded his hands in front of him. "I can tell what your answer would be already. But why do you care either way?"  
"He's a damned distraction, that's why! I can't get them to shut up about him. I really can't." she blurted out. "I don't think it's very healthy either because 'he' is not real."

Andrew raised his eyebrows and watched her pour dressing on her bunny food. It still amazed him at how little the woman ate. It didn't help the fact that she was already too thin – maybe even thinner than when they had first met. "Maybe there's a way to get it out of their systems at least until the next big mob bust happens in this town." He brushed his fingers through his disheveled dark hair and watched as the fork stabbed a tomato.

Ideas began churning in the back of Lisa's mind as Andrew spoke but her expression didn't betray her thoughts, "I will not let this _figment_ take over any more than it already has. It's ridiculous how the police have let this thing get out of hand."  
Andrew shrugged, rubbing his eyes. "It's up to you. But trust me, sometimes you can make it easier on yourself when you stop trying to work against everything all the time and maybe let some things work for you."  
Lisa's eyes weren't on Andrew and she barely heard what he was saying. She was glancing about the room as she thought. "All I need is proof. There isn't even proof that this Batman exists but people believe he's around every night saving lives and wearing tights. This place will turn into Metropolis if people aren't careful and I've heard even _weirder_ things about what goes on over there."

"First of all Wikipedia shouldn't be your only source of information, and you're not a reporter, Lisa. You're an English teacher. Try and keep your head for my sake, will you? This whole thing is harmless whether you think it's true or not." Andrew kept his voice calm. It was impossible to believe that he could actually raise his tone of voice in anger or any kind of temper because it simply was not his way.

"I could start at the newspapers and then go to the police. Do you realize that the only word we have on this is the word of convicted criminals?" Her eyes were wide and tense as she brushed a stray hair out of her eyes.  
Lisa jammed her fork into her salad with a vengeance and waited for Andrew to answer her question but he wisely declined and sadly attempted to change the subject in the hopes to get her mind off of such a silly ventures.


	2. Chapter 2 Meeting the Prince

Chapter 2 – Meeting the Prince

Sometime in the first quarter of every school year the students and faculty of Wayne High School would gather in the main gymnasium to listen to a very special guest speaker. Bruce Wayne himself. His father, Thomas Wayne made a speech every year at the school until he died. Bruce's appearances had become rather sporadic. But that was to be expected. The people of Gotham tended to forgive their prince his small faults. He was young after all, single, and apparently had no idea what he wanted out of life seeing as how he already had everything anybody else could want.

Bruce Wayne was in the same category as Batman as far as Lisa Dridgel was concerned. He was one of the city's myths though there was enough sufficient proof of his existence that she didn't question it. The assembly would be about forty five minutes long and then Wayne would tour the school and pop into certain class rooms through the day. Lisa had only seen a few photos of Bruce Wayne in the local papers and tabloids but was able to conclude that he wasn't very difficult to look at.

The faculty were seated amongst the students to keep them under control. Lisa settled herself amongst some of the freshman that she knew and waited for Principal Spooner to welcome everyone and send out veiled threats to all of the students that they would wish they'd never been born if they disrupted the proceedings. At least that's what Andrew had told Lisa. This would be her first assembly at this school.

"Welcome students, staff members, and committee parents. It is the beginning of another school year…"  
A girl giggled softly next to Lisa who snapped her head around and shushed her, threatening to take her phone away. The girl exited the text screen on her shockingly pink phone and stowed it in her purse, giving Miss Dridgel a dirty look.

"Have you found him yet?" a voice said behind her.  
Lisa twisted around and met Andrew's mischievous smile in the row behind her.  
"Found who?" Lisa said, swallowing down her fright at him being so suddenly close to her.  
"Wayne," Andrew nodded down towards the makeshift stage and the row of folding chairs next to it. "Every single girl in this place has already spotted him," he whispered. "What do you think she was giggling at?"

Lisa rolled her eyes as Andrew chuckled and began scanning the men and women seated by the stage. One of them moved, ducking their head to the side so he could whisper to the man next to him, an older man with light grey hair.  
That definitely was him. He was the youngest person in that lineup with broad shoulders under what looked like a blue Armani suit, brown hair and a strong jaw. Lisa tilted her head as she looked at him. Yes, he was handsome but that was something else.  
"Broody," she muttered and shook her head as Andrew chuckled a little more.

"Now, please welcome our honored guest who has graciously come to speak to us today, Mr. Bruce Wayne." Principal Spooner began the applause and stepped away from the podium as the young Wayne got to his feet and stepped onto the stage, towering over Spooner by at least a foot.  
"Here we go," Andrew said, leaning forward in his seat.

The small waves of chatter died down as Mr. Wayne took the stand. Lisa narrowed her eyes at him from across the gym floor. It was a strange presence the man had. He didn't appear pompous, commanding, or snobbish in the least as Lisa had been expecting. On the contrary, he slipped his hands into his pockets and stared down the crowd for a moment or two before opening his mouth to speak as though he were sizing everyone up.

"Hey guys," he said casually with a small turn of the corners of his mouth.  
A ripple of chuckles went through the students and Lisa could immediately feel the atmosphere relax a little more.

"I won't say how long it's been since I've been here, that's not important anyway. What I will say is how important it is that I see all of you here today, gathered together under one roof," he cleared his throat and looked down at his shoes for a moment. "My father, most of you weren't around when he came up here and did this, much better than I ever will, I might add," more chuckles, "he had one goal for this school and for this city and he died trying to reach it."

Lisa had heard just bits and pieces of the Wayne history in Gotham since she'd moved into the city. The reason for the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne was easy enough to find – they had been murdered, the victims of a petty theft on the street of all things.  
"My father wanted this school and its city to progress, to reach the potential of the people who inhabit it. My only wish is that I could have understood his reasoning better when I was attending this school…"  
The city of Gotham was slowly coming back and in order for it to stand the way it used to the students at Wayne high, present and future, must also realize their potential.

That is when Lisa was thrown off. Mr. Bruce Wayne, instead of keeping things generalized and boringly political, he became personal, speaking directly to each and every single one of those teenagers who stared up at him, ignoring the vibrations of the incoming text messages in their pockets from their friends who'd ditched the assembly.  
He spoke as though he were one of them and managed to keep their attention until he'd finished and the applause began as he stepped off the stage and Principal Spooner excused the students to their third period classes.

Lisa sat with her thin arms folded across her and her lips pursed as she continued staring at one of the richest men in the world.  
Andrew nudged at her and raised his eyebrows curiously as she turned to him.  
"Did you hear him? 'What we once believed to be impossible is coming true. Our city is coming back to us…'" Lisa muttered.  
"So?" Andrew shrugged.

"He's _talking_ about that Batman," Lisa said pointedly.  
"You're being paranoid, Lisa," Andrew said.  
"He doesn't deny his existence, does he? He's one of the most famous people in this country. People have asked him what he thinks, haven't they?" Lisa got to her feet and stalked down the bleachers and out of the room before Andrew could answer.

--

Oh she _prayed_ that he would come to her classroom. But she would have to be subtle in broaching the subject, especially with such a respected figure staring her down. But Miss Lisa Dridgel would not be intimidated, as her mother used to say, Lisa was too headstrong for her own good.  
Perhaps she was becoming a little obsessive. But when would this opportunity come again?

Third period was a bust for Lisa. She taught her class as normal without interruption. Her fourth period was her prep period and she knew Wayne wouldn't be staying for the entire school day.

During her fourth period she went through Google, digging around for anything she could find on Bruce Wayne and his parents. He'd just been a boy when his parents were shot right in front of him in an alley by a complete stranger. He was raised by the family friend and butler. But that wasn't the strange part.  
Bruce Wayne had been declared dead after having gone missing for seven years and then suddenly returning back to his home more 'grown up' many people said.  
"Seven years," Lisa muttered to herself as she pushed her glasses back up her nose.

"Miss Dridgel?" a knock and call came from outside her tiny little office and made her jump out of her cheap and squeaky desk chair.  
The three men stepped inside. "I was told that she chose us over a school in Metropolis which is a little strange but welcome," Spooner gushed as they walked into the empty classroom.

Bruce's eyes moved quickly around the room. Everything was painfully organized. File folders lined one long shelf along the back wall, the rest of the shelves were weighed down with thick, dusty looking volumes of information he never would have bothered to try and learn.  
A class assignment schedule was written in neat, block handwriting on the black board at the front of the class and instantly the default strict female teacher entered Bruce's mind. Dridgel. Even the last name fit the ancient, white haired, stooped, crone type of woman he was picturing. But as Miss Lisa Dridgel timidly stepped out of her office and stood to her full height wearing a long grey skirt and black knit sweater, square rimmed spectacles over large brown eyes, Bruce found himself repenting a little for his assumptions.

Miss Dridgel, the freshmen English and Literature teacher at Wayne High was young, tall, very thin, with wispy dirty blonde hair tied into a tight bun at the back of her head, a pointed nose, and round forehead.  
"Oh there you are Lisa," Spooner was saying. He took her hand in a gentle way and guided her to the two men who stood in the middle of the classroom. The grey haired man she saw Bruce speak to earlier stood just behind Wayne. His face was pleasant enough and his eyes were kind.  
"Let me introduce you to Mr. Bruce Wayne, the man responsible for a large chunk of funding for the district."

Lisa held out her hand and Bruce took it firmly in his own with a curt nod of his head.  
"This is Lisa Dridgel. She is our new hire this year, just moved in before classes started."  
At this both men raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances. A smile crept across Bruce's seemingly hard features. "It was purposeful? Your moving here," he teased.

Lisa laughed a little too enthusiastically, "Yes, I always do my research Mr. Wayne."  
"Please, I'm Bruce, Miss – "  
"Lisa," she said.

"You've got me curious now," Bruce said, his hands going into his pants pockets again. "What did your research tell you?"  
"That this city needed good people, good teachers to help it heal," Lisa said, peering at him through her glasses. She could almost look Bruce Wayne in the eye while she was wearing her heels but not quite.  
"Well said, Miss," the grey haired man spoke up.

"Yes," Bruce said. "It's taken a lot to get it this far."  
"So I've heard," Lisa said, clenching up a little in anticipation of where she was trying to bring the conversation.  
Bruce folded his arms across his chest, sensing her tension, "What have you heard?"

Lisa wanted to bellow at him about what she'd heard but kept her head level and attempted to clear her thoughts as best she could. "Well, for example what made me hesitant to move here were the reports of a man sized flying rodent going around the city at night saving people's lives. It kind of caught my eye."  
Bruce laughed out loud at her sheer fearlessness.

"Lisa, I don't think – "  
"No, no, Mr. Spooner. I don't doubt the majority of this country looks at us strangely for that reason. But either way," Bruce took a small step towards Lisa, the older man behind him lowering his head. Was he smiling? "This city probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for…what do they call him now? The Dark Knight."

Lisa's patience broke, "How can you _say_ that?" she blurted, scaring the life out of Spooner and derailing Bruce's train of thought. "You're an intelligent and wealthy man and you're telling me that you also believe this – this garbage about a man who jumps off of rooftops and flies around the city in black tights."  
"He doesn't wear tights," the older man pointed out.  
"Lisa," Spooner said warningly.

"There is no proof that he exists besides the testimony of locked up nutters," Lisa continued as though no one had spoken. "I've been looking and there's nothing." She pointed a finger up at Bruce, "And that is dangerous. The kids in this school believe that he's real and this isn't like Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny – they actually think that there is some sort of _super hero_ going around protecting them at night as they sleep."

Bruce waited a few seconds to be certain she was finished and spoke calmly, "You're absolutely right, Lisa. Though I think the words 'super hero' are a little extreme, there's no immediate proof of his existence. But if I may, you're still a stranger here and before you go around telling people that they're wrong I would try and find your proof first."

Principal Spooner looked as though the large vein protruding from the center of his forehead was in danger of bursting, or his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets – Lisa couldn't tell which was more likely to happen and in what order.  
Wayne on the other hand looked perfectly calm, maybe even slightly amused though his expression told her nothing, his eyes sparkled a little as he looked at her.  
"I'll start looking then," Lisa said stubbornly.

"I apologize, Mr. Wayne – " Spooner spluttered but Bruce shook his head.  
"No need to, Jack," he surveyed Lisa once more with those _eyes_ of his. "We need more aggressive people like Miss Dridgel here on our side." He leaned towards her a little, his lips smiling gently at her. "You'll let me know what you find out?"  
"Of course," Lisa said, a little shaken at his calm and almost amused reaction.

Spooner on the other hand shot her a look that would have killed her stone dead if he'd been a super hero as Bruce and the grey haired man followed him out of the classroom.


	3. Chapter 3 Proof

Chapter 3 – Proof

The two men were silent until they reached the school parking lot later that afternoon. Alfred opened the door for his friend and stepped into the driver's side as Bruce settled himself in the back seat.  
Once in the Rolls, Alfred's curiosity couldn't be contained any longer. He could barely contain his laughter in that woman's classroom. He started the engine and pulled into the street, glancing up at the rear view mirror that showed Bruce sitting silently in the back seat staring out the window at nothing in particular.

"Doesn't it make you wonder sir?" Alfred said, watching Bruce's attention tear away from whatever he was thinking about and look towards the front seat.  
"Wonder about what, Alfred?"

"Well, that Lisa Dridgel woman thinks that Batman is a figment of the imagination of the entire police force. You do make him hard to spot, which is understandable of course but I never considered the other side of the argument." Alfred glanced at the mirror again. Bruce's expression hadn't changed as he listened.  
"The people of Gotham believe in Batman but it's quite possible that not all of them do."

"It's a minority if that's true," Bruce replied calmly.  
"Even so, sir,"  
"What? Do you think Batman should show up for a press photo op?" Bruce said with a tilt of his head.  
"No sir," Alfred chuckled. "I think you could maybe help that Dridgel woman find the proof she's looking for."

Bruce leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes. "She has a right to believe what she wants, Alfred. I didn't make this so I could pull pranks on people."  
Alfred shrugged and said no more about it.

Silence remained in the car for the rest of the drive during which Bruce continually beat ideas on proving Batman's existence to Lisa to the back of his mind. It was silly and juvenile and not worth his time and effort. She was from a small town according to Spooner. Of course she'd be skeptical.  
But she'd been so stubborn and so sure of herself that it nearly set him off right there in that classroom. She also had no idea who she was talking to. Nobody really did when they spoke to him, Bruce Wayne, if you got right down to it. So many people believed they knew who he was yet many of them would have him committed if they were truly aware of his persona – well, his double persona.  
As he stepped out of the car and into his home, Bruce decided to himself that he would leave it alone. Lisa Dridgel would eventually learn the truth if she acted on anything that she said. She would learn the truth. He only wished he could be there when she did.

--

The Gotham Times office never ceased to be busy even after the evening edition was sent out as Lisa was learning very quickly while she waited to speak for the leading reporter on the Batman stories.  
Lisa was able to reach Julie Ochipinti after class that day and she agreed to meet with her on one condition, that she kept it quick. After all, it was a Friday evening and the crime rate always shot up during the weekends. Julie was out following the source of that silly "Bat Signal" – like the Batman could see it from wherever he was and would come to the rescue.

She rolled her eyes as she looked out the window at the white circle of light shining in the sky surrounding the black silhouette of a bat. The thing would only work when it was cloudy! But since she'd moved there, Lisa couldn't remember seeing a clear sunny day. Well, that was convenient.  
The signal blinked off of the clouds at about the same time the door to the office burst open and a greasy looking camera man with arms too long for his body. He was closely followed by a short, plump woman with mousey brown, fly away hair. They stumbled into the office and nearly crashed into a desk that they eventually found chairs to and sat down.

The assistant who greeted Lisa tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Looks like Julie's back," she said nodding towards the chaos across the room.  
Lisa glanced at the harsh looking woman then back at the assistant with raised eyebrows, "That's Julie Ochipinti?"  
"That's her," the assistant smiled sweetly. "I think it's the name from her last marriage actually."

Lisa nodded and got to her feet, weaving her way through the office until she reached the desk where the camera man had set down his equipment and was hooking it up to a monitor. She stood in front of the desk and kept silent as the latest news footage was uploaded.  
The picture flicked to life on the screen and the three people surrounding the desk stared. The view looked like it was from the middle of a street in the city. It was almost completely dark aside from the street lamps along the sidewalk.

"Okay, okay, listen, listen here Jules," the camera man said.  
Lisa leaned forward instinctively and waited. The dark image didn't change but the cameraman turned up the volume and there was a distinctive scream first, then a slam, another slam, and a large crash.  
"Now look to the top of the screen, the roof," he said.  
The women leaned closer and squinted at the screen. In the upper quarter of the screen a black shape jumped across the roof top, barely distinguishable from the nearly black background.

"There!" he shouted.  
"Where?" Julie said.

He backed up the footage and played it again. Lisa and Julie leaned in closer until their eyes were nearly crossed. The black blob went across the screen.  
"That's him," the cameraman said happily. "He left when we heard the sirens."  
Julie on the other hand looked livid. She stood up to her full height, which wasn't all that impressive, and slapped him over the back of the head. "You promised me that we'd get an image we could actually print!"

Lisa jumped back at the slap and pushed her glasses back up her nose.  
"You are so _fired_," Julie said, looking at the computer screen.  
"You don't have that authority, Jules," he said with a roll of his eyes.  
"Well you can compensate by getting the hell away from me!" she said flopping down in her chair.

He skulked away from the desk, receiving a few pats on the back and "nice tries" from other reporters and assistants.  
"Who the hell are you?" Julie barked.  
Lisa jumped and snapped her head back around to the scowling little woman who sat glaring up at her.

"I'm Lisa Dridgel. We spoke on the phone earlier today," Lisa said after she recovered.  
"Oh, right. You're the noob," she folded her hands over her expansive chest. "What do you want?"  
"I want your proof that Batman exists," Lisa said, turning suddenly businesslike.

Julie snorted loudly, her anger forgotten, "You haven't lived here long have you?"  
"Does it matter? Just now you were wherever he was supposedly and you still didn't come back with proof."  
"Because he's fast – "  
"Because he doesn't exist!"  
"- faster than a priest who's been outed. He values his privacy apparently. He nearly ran Johnny over with that crazy black tank thing the last time we tracked him down."

"So you've seen him then?" Lisa sat down in an old creaky chair next to Julie's desk.  
"Damn right honey," Julie said nodding and scratching along her bra line. "Not that it makes much of a difference. I can't get a picture of him for nothing."  
"You sure it's a man?" Lisa said calmly.  
Julie snorted again, "I'm pretty sure honey. Look," she leaned forward in her seat and fixed Lisa with watery stare. "I don't know what you're trying to find. I don't know where he comes from, I don't know if he's been sent from God or has climbed up here from hell – though hell can't be much worse – I don't even know if he's human. But I do know that he is very real. I can give you all of the files and articles I've done on him." She leaned back again, "But for some reason I don't think that'll convince you."

Lisa pursed her lips at the amused woman waggling her eyebrows at her. "Could I have those files?"  
"Sure, just give me a minute," Julie slapped the screen saver off of her computer monitor and started digging.

--

Lisa left the Gotham Times offices at around 9:30 that night and began heading home. She didn't take a taxi. He knew because he saw her come out of the building after catching the last bit of her conversation with Julie, that obnoxiously persistent news woman. There were times when he wished he aimed a little truer and had run her over –well, at least nicked her a little.

But, he was proud to find that Lisa hadn't gotten anywhere in her search. He watched her stow the data CD in her purse and make her way across the street. Oh it was so _tempting_. There wasn't a lot of time to think on it though. Lisa passed a lamp lit alley way and continued on her way completely oblivious to the two crazies that slithered out of the shadows and began to follow her.  
He sighed, closing his eyes and collecting his thoughts before he leaped from the building in pursuit of the two men. They were nearly on her when he reached them. The first one was simple. He grabbed him from behind and slung him around the corner of a building. That's all it took. The man squealed like a small girl and ran.

Lisa stopped, and patted her pockets as quietly as she could. Her MACE was at home on the kitchen counter. She kicked herself for being so careless in this town and glanced behind her. A snap of fabric sounded half a block behind her and a large shadow moved harshly against the light and disappeared.  
She squinted against the dark and couldn't find anyone else around her. A groan broke the silence in the street, another rush of thick fabric, then the sound of footsteps running away from her location.

The second one took a little longer than the last. The shadow peered around the building at the now frail looking figure of the English school teacher he'd met earlier that week. She was trembling and his pride melted as he tried to figure out what to do with her.  
Lisa was rooted to the spot. There had been a mugging or a murder right behind her and the murderer or mugger could be anywhere and there she was without her MACE and her self defense classes didn't start until November.

"Oh please, oh please, oh please, please, please…" He heard her muttering under her sharp breaths.  
He sighed and cleared his throat. "Go home," he said harshly. "It's not safe here."  
Lisa choked on her breath and didn't answer. She turned on her heel, nearly stumbling to the ground in the process, and ran the rest of the way down the street. He listened to her footsteps until they faded into the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4 Close

Chapter 4 – Close

The stitch in her side didn't bother her until she made her way up the stairs to the third floor of her apartment building, ran down the hall huffing and puffing, and burst through the door, slamming it shut behind her. Lisa leaned back against the door, her chest heaving and her eyes wide with fright as she tried to catch her breath.  
She had never run so far for so long in her entire life. Then again, she never had such good motivation before. Lisa whirled around, attacking the door. She flipped, slid, and turned all of the locks that were available on her door. After that, she ran to the windows in each of the rooms of her apartment, making certain they were all closed and locked as securely as possible.

But she still didn't feel safe. A raging paranoia she never believed she could have conjured before was eating at her mind. Nothing had happened to her, no one had touched her, but it had come close enough for her. And _that voice_! What human could sound like that and still be considered sane? No human, that's what!

It was confusing though. The voice was frightening, yes. But there was no aggression in it. Lisa considered it further as she turned on a lamp and staggered over to an old easy chair leaning back in it, attempting to clear her head. It had warned her. One of those horrible criminals had warned her to run. Was that normal? Did greasy, no good, filthy minded, criminals have sudden bursts of compassion and sympathy once in a while?  
Lisa couldn't understand it. One thing she was certain of, she thought to herself as she turned on her laptop and inserted the data CD. She would be sleeping with the lights on tonight.

Julie's articles consisted of the same template. The "Bat Signal" goes off (Lisa had to keep from rolling her eyes every time she read anything about that useless light.) because all hell had apparently broken loose somewhere in the city; Julie starts looking for the source out in the city – or she just follows the sound of gunfire, whichever she happens to come across. But of course, the mysterious Dark Knight has conveniently vanished before she could get there with one of those disposable, wind-up film cameras she always tries to keep on her person. After the drama and the razzle-dazzle, the articles generally sum up the crime with what Julie can get from the police who were first on the scene.

Thankfully, it was a weekend and allowed Lisa to study Julie's files long into the night and then the morning hours. There was nothing. _Nothing_. That blasted reporter had no photos, no testimony, no witnesses, no proof whatsoever of the existence of this overgrown, fruit eating super hero! Yet there seemed to be no question at all in the mind of that hair brained reporter that he existed – if it was a he.

_I don't know where he comes from, I don't know if he's been sent from God or has climbed up here from hell – though hell can't be much worse – I don't even know if he's human. But I do know that he is very real.  
_She'd sounded so certain, her eyes looking completely serious at Lisa as she'd spoken those words. But she said she'd seen him. Well, maybe she _believed_ she'd seen him. Lisa got the feeling that you could end up seeing a lot of things in this town that weren't actually there.

Lisa skimmed over a random article again. There was that name.  
_"Without Batman, the entire city would have been lost," says Lt. James Gordon of Gotham Police. It has now been a year since the chaotic outbreak of Dr. Johnathan Crane's "Fear Toxin" upon the city and still, the people of Gotham are giving their thanks to one man – a man that surpasses all definition of what a we know a man should be – the Batman._

"Surpasses all definition," Lisa muttered scathingly to herself. But that wasn't what had gotten her attention – Lieutenant James Gordon. She'd read that name before at least a dozen times in different articles. What was more interesting was the fact that he always sided with the imaginary bat. He always was defending him, saying positive things about him – in every single quote Julie had taken down, Gordon seemed like a worse case than Julie.  
Lisa rubbed her tired eyes and shut the computer down. A trip to the police station later that day seemed to be in order.

--

The phone rang too early. It buzzed on her bedside table and Lisa groped her hand across the bed for it. She answered it gruffly and scowled at the perky tone on the line.  
"You're still asleep?" Andrew's voice rang in from the other end. "It's almost noon."

Lisa blinked and checked her watch that had been resting next to the phone, "Oh, yes I was."  
"I thought you drank moderately," Andrew kidded.  
"I do. I was just up too late I guess," Lisa grumbled as she sat up and brushed the disheveled hair out of her eyes.

"Sure you were," Andrew said.  
"What do you want, Drew?" Lisa sighed.  
"Well, I was wondering what you were going to be up to this evening."

"I need to get to the police station," she said without thinking.  
"The police station? Why?"  
"I was going to – "  
"You're not on that Batman doesn't exist kick are you? Please tell me you're not. Please Lisa," Andrew said.

"I think I'm on to something," she said and didn't give him another chance to argue or to attempt asking her out again. Lisa quickly made an excuse to hang up the phone and slid lazily out of bed.  
The lights were still on in every room.

--

Yet again, Lisa found herself in a similar situation like the one last night in the Gotham Times office. The only difference was that the people running around weren't really running, and they were in uniform. The police department and offices seemed more orderly and calm than the news offices. But that shouldn't have been surprising.

Lisa had brought a pen and a pad of paper with her and claimed to the officer at the front desk that she was a reporter, and had been told to get a statement from Lt. Gordon about the previous evening's excitement. The officer seemed to buy it though she gave Lisa a strange look as she told her to have a seat.

Lt. Gordon was a thin man with a bushy moustache that was beginning to betray his age by going gray a little. He had a kind smile and bright blue eyes to match if you were lucky enough to see him on a good day.  
One thing that Batman did bring with him when he arrived in Gotham was the press. Gordon however, believed it was a price worth paying if it kept Batman on their side. Yes, it could be obnoxious sometimes, but again, it was worth it. That is why he okayed the seemingly green reporter to come back into one of the small conference rooms to speak with him.

Lisa was getting nervous. She had never lied to a cop before, much less on such a seemingly pointless pretense. But it was a little late to consider making a run for it when she was led to a glass windowed door, beyond which sat a calm looking man with a brown moustache.  
She opened the door gently and stepped in. Gordon immediately stood to greet her, offering his hand. She was much younger than he was expecting, taller too. She could easily look him in the eye without the need of standing on her toes.

They shook hands and he offered her a seat at the table.  
"Um, my name is Lisa Drigel," she said without too much difficulty.  
Gordon nodded and continued waiting patiently for her to bombard him with redundant questions.

"I'm, um," she blinked, unnerved by the honesty in the man's face and slowly felt herself breaking. "Okay, okay," she said, waving her hand in front of her. "I'm not really a reporter."  
"Really?" Gordon said, sounding shocked.  
"I'm just a high school English teacher," Lisa confessed.

Gordon raised his eyebrows slightly as he adjusted his glasses on his face. "So…why did you want to see me, Miss Dridgel?"  
Lisa glanced at the door then back at the not angry face that look back at her, "I've been trying to prove to people that your Batman doesn't exist?"  
"My Batman? I wouldn't say that to him if I were you," Gordon's mouth twitched slightly.

"This city's delusion. That's what he is," Lisa's confidence was returning to her.  
"That's what _you_ think he is, I'm afraid," Gordon got to his feet and put his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall. "I won't deny anything I've said before, if that's what you're looking for."

"I'm looking for proof, one way or the other, Lieutenant and so far I've found none of his actual existence."  
Gordon nodded and lowered his eyes to the floor as he thought for a moment. "I know you've spoken to Jules. She can be a nasty little thing when she wants to but I tell her what she wants to know, she tells me what I need to know. It's kind of a love-hate relationship."

Lisa's confidence fell again and she sank a little in her chair. All of the crazies in this blasted town kept in touch with each other. It was like some sort of deranged online friends list or something.  
"I'm afraid you'll only be disappointed in your research, Miss Dridgel. I haven't met a person in this town who can deny he exists. Several people have seen him because he's saved them or they happened across him one night." Gordon scratched his chin and sat back down, folding his hands on the table top. "As for myself, I've worked with the man, spoken to him, watched him save thousands of lives. I think you've come to the wrong person."

Lisa's brain was going to work again as the Lieutenant spoke. "You know him?"  
"You could say that," Gordon shrugged.  
"I want to meet him then," Lisa said firmly.

Gordon's mouth opened slightly and he stared at her. "How do you propose that be arranged?"  
"I don't know," Lisa said sharply. "You're the one who sees him and speaks to him."  
Gordon sat back in his chair and folded his arms. "Alright," he said slowly.  
"What?" Lisa leaned forward.

"Fine. I guess it'd be better for all of us if you receive your proof one way or the other. The signal is mounted on the roof of this building. He usually meets me there when I turn it on. If you can make it here in time you might get your chance to see that the entire population of this city did not dream him up."  
Lisa nodded, wondering what the catch was. But she had already been stupid enough for one day. She got to her feet and thanked Lt. Gordon for his time, taking her leave as quickly as she could without appearing rude – although it was a little late for that.

Gordon leaned on the table after she left and bit his lip. "I don't think he's going to like this," he muttered to himself, sounding regretful.


	5. Chapter 5 Morning Meetings

Chapter 5 – Morning Meetings

It didn't take long. Saturday night, just over thirty hours from her meeting with Lt. Gordon, Lisa saw the now familiar yet unnatural light in the sky. It reflected clearly off of the ever present clouds above the tops of the sky scrapers.  
Unfortunately, however, Lisa had only happened to open her eyes as she was rolling over in bed and catch it in as she glimpsed out the window. The police station was halfway across town and she was in her pajamas. But those thoughts were secondary as she sat up and fumbled around on her bedside table in search for her glasses. She shoved them on her face and glanced at the clock. 1:30am – Sunday morning actually. Nobody in that damned town ever kept normal hours!

She crawled out of bed and thanked the maker that it was indeed Sunday morning and not Monday morning. Lisa groaned inwardly at the thought of school on Monday.  
There wouldn't be a lot of time and Gordon didn't guarantee her anything. That was a ridiculous thought because there was _nothing_ to guarantee. Lisa pulled on her shoes and her long coat as she snatched up her purse and her keys. She nearly ran into her door as she tried to unlock, unchain, and unlatch everything on it before she could get out of her apartment.

Sirens screamed outside but she couldn't tell where they were from as she sped towards the police station. Traffic was light, thankfully but still dangerous as her frizzy hair continuously interfered with her vision as she drove. There hadn't been time to put it up and away from her face. But who would care? She had a feeling that this would finally be it. She could shove it in the faces of all of those poor deluded souls and perhaps begin to steer them back to reality.

--

Bruce saw the signal first and was already on his way out of the room when Alfred met up with him, taking his jacket, then his neck tie, and then the button down shirt as they came off one by one on his way down the stairs. They moved quickly, efficiently down to the sublevel of Wayne Manor without saying a word to each other. It had become habitual by now - a mechanical response that held no question, and no doubt with either of them.

Alfred waited until Bruce was ready and stepped back, a complete shadow, in less than three minutes. "Take care, Master Bruce," he said as he always did as the shadow slipped into his great black vehicle and sped off.

--

Lisa was out of breath. No one was driving on the street because they were all _parked_ along it! There had been no parking spots for at least four blocks and she had run, surprisingly without any of the previous fear she had in her mind when she'd last been standing alone on those streets.

The front desk of the station wasn't occupied and she made a bolt for the elevator. Those who were there barely seemed to notice her or the even crazier pair of bumbling loud mouths who had caught up to her and nearly bowled her over at the elevator doors.  
"_What are you doing here?"_ both women screeched at each other at the same time.  
Lisa was at least a head taller than Julie Ochipinti but that didn't keep her from being intimidated by the huffing and puffing lump of a woman who stood well over the limits of Lisa's comfort zone.

Julie's camera man was the one who nearly killed Lisa by squashing her into the metal doors of the elevator before he realized a living thing was shouting from underneath his backside. Julie's chest was heaving in and out as though she'd just run an Olympic sprint. Her face was red and her eyes bloodshot to match but she was focused, there could be no mistaking that.  
A small smirk came to her lips as she looked at Lisa, who was mostly a face full of hair at that point. "Oh, that's right. You're here to prove us all wrong. Well, you're very persistent, I'll give that to you. I heard a little of what you said to Gordon. Ballsy, that. Why are you in your pajamas?"

Lisa rolled her eyes and pulled her coat tighter around her, "Well you're here to prove me wrong so I guess we're even."  
Julie guffawed and rubbed her eyes as the elevator doors opened and they shoved each other inside as one great ball of humans and overcoats. "Honey, I could care less what you think about anyone. I'm here to do my job. I can't say what you're here for to be honest."  
Lisa looked towards the ceiling as she tried to think of a clever retort in her foggy brain. Nothing came to her and the question still sat in her mind, plain as the round, rosy nose on Julie's face. Why _was_ she there?

--

He'd leaned on the inner ledge to rest his weary bones, putting his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. The night was chilly, the bite of winter was getting closer.  
Gordon got to his feet again just as he was getting comfortable. He adjusted his glasses as the shadow dropped onto the roof from what seemed the sky itself. He approached the lieutenant in long, precise strides until the one part of his face could be seen in the light from the signal.

"Lieutenant," the dark voice said expectantly.  
"There's been a breach in the high security cells," Gordon said, trying to keep the fatigue out of his voice. "He's gotten out. Three prison guards are dead," he sighed and scratched his head, "from felt tipped pens. Seems he was collecting them."  
The shadow had no reaction, there never was a reaction no matter how grim the situation. Gordon never believed this emotionless statue of a man could react to any kind of news and he wasn't let down yet again.

"When?" the dark voice chilled Gordon still but he was used to it by now.

--

The elevator doors opened and Julie held no mercy as she shoved past Lisa and her one manned camera crew. They ran, scuffled, and tripped their way to the stairs that led to the roof. Lisa took a few hits from the camera, accidentally as far as that ignorant bastard of a camera man new.

The bruises on her feet and toes from Julie smashing them with her over large feet were a different matter.  
There was a slam and both men turned to the closed door, the only access to the roof from inside. The shadow stepped out of the light as Gordon stared confusedly at the door. It took a second or two for the realization to come upon him as to what was going on behind it.

"Ow! Ow-ow-ow-ow! OUCH! Stop it you –"  
"If you don't get out of my way skinny, I will _make_ you. I'm not missing this! Gordon only lets me try this once a month – "  
"Let go of my hair!"

Another crash and a clattering sound, that could have been something large and heavy dropping onto the cement stairs.  
"Oh shit! Jules – "

There were three of them. Gordon closed his eyes to collect his thoughts and figure the best way for him to get out of this situation. There were two women and a man in that stairwell, battling it out about a flight of stairs below the door. A little further away stood their goal who kept his flashing eyes focused on the entrance to the roof.

"What's going on, Lieutenant?" he said from behind the signal.  
The glare of the light was too bright for Gordon to see him.  
Gordon sighed. It was much too late – actually, much too early in the morning for him to be dealing with this right now. "You'd better go."  
"Why?"

"You know, if you'd stop it we could get there much faster," that painfully logical voice was unmistakable. It echoed in the stairwell up to their ears and the shadow stiffened, if that were possible to do any more than he was doing at the moment.  
"They're here to see you, actually," Gordon said helplessly.  
"And you let them?" the voice lowered dangerously.  
"You know I have bigger things on my plate than dealing with people like them," Gordon paused, testing to see if he'd made things worse by his hint of sass. "They're harmless."

The footsteps were coming up the stairs, rattling the hinges of the door.  
"Lisa Dridgel," the shadow said flatly.  
Gordon raised his eyebrows as he glanced at the door, "You know her?" He turned back and there was no answer. He walked around the signal and saw no one there. He was alone on the roof once more, shaking his head as the door to the stairwell burst open.

With a mad stare and crazy unkempt hair, Julie stumbled out of the stairwell and ran, well, _trudged_ up to Gordon who looked down at her trying to appear disappointed. "We didn't miss him _again?_ Jim, tell me, please, please – "  
"Sorry Jules, you just did. I've always told you it was a long shot."  
Julie then proceeded to stomp around and cuss in a way that a woman should never be heard cussing if she wanted to continue being called a woman.

Lisa clutched her coat tightly around her in the cooler air on the roof and approached Gordon, her hair disobeying her every command as it blew around in the breeze. "So you're telling me he was here?"  
The poor, tired cop shut off the signal and came back around to where Lisa stood, "Yes, that's what I'm telling you, Miss Dridgel."  
Lisa folded her arms in front of her, "Convenient."

Gordon shook his head, "Look, it's not my place to judge people. I try not to. But I can't help but think there's something else to how stubborn you're being about this whole thing." He stood closely in front of her, his voice and eyes stern. "Batman is real and I know I'm not the only one who's said that to you. Why can't you accept it? And why are you wearing your pajamas?"

Lisa backed away from him, pursing her lips and blinking the sleep out of her eyes as she looked furiously back at him. The roof was much more shadowy and mysterious with the signal shut off.  
"Do you think I'd stand up here alone, wasting my time in the middle of the night just to support an idea?" Gordon tried again. His sleep deprivation was getting the better of him. Normally, he wouldn't be so snappy towards a woman who was wearing her pajamas and sneakers outside on the top of a high rise.

Lisa looked back at him, "There can't be such a thing."  
"Because you say so?" Gordon said quickly.

"Apparently," Julie had calmed down and had been listening to their conversation just after she cussed out her camera man for getting their equipment smashed in the stairwell even though it originally was her fault when she elbowed him in the ribs. "She's like a trained horse, Jim."  
"Excuse me?" Lisa raised her eyebrows.  
"You only believe what you're trained to believe," she said seriously then patted Gordon on the arm and thanked him as she staggered back to the door.  
Gordon yawned as Lisa leaned on the outer ledge of the building and looked out into the city, blanketed in the night sky.

He watched the breeze pick up her hair and brush it away from her face as he crouched in the shadow between the wall and the side of the raised stairwell entrance. He could've stopped all speculation right then. He could have scared the daylights out of her and settled her little issue.  
Gordon approached her. "Get back home, Lisa," he said, seeing how tired she looked. He glanced to their right and started but made no motion at the large black shadow crouched in the corner. Apparently, he'd stayed to hear what was up with the crazies in the stairwell.

The sharp eyes stayed on the two of them as Gordon tried to pretend they weren't there at all. "You know sometimes we can let ideas get the better of us. You're right on that."  
"Thank you," Lisa said, trying to smooth out her hair.  
"I think that's exactly what happened to you," he said, glancing to his right again.

The shadow was still there, solid as stone but listening intently and ignoring Gordon's nervous glances - he rested only feet from the school teacher who thought he was only an idea. Lisa had turned her head away from him to fix Gordon with a tired glare. But her heart wasn't it.  
"How about we call a truce for a while, huh?" he waved his hand towards the shadow but nobody moved.  
Lisa shrugged, "Sure. I haven't even prepped for my Monday morning classes yet. Things like this just drive me nuts though."  
"Things like what?"

A strong wind struck them, blowing at the shadow's cape but it went unnoticed by the tired pair on the roof. Lisa held her coat around her. "No one can prove it to me either way, you know. There's nothing solid, for or against. I just chose to believe the more likely scenario."  
Gordon chuckled, "You're not very religious, are you?"

Lisa's face came back into view, glowing faintly in the street lights coming from below them. Her mouth was gently curved upwards at Gordon's question.  
"Come on, I'll walk you to your car," he patted her on her shoulder and guided her around towards the stair door, taking a look behind them.  
The corner on the roof ledge was empty.


	6. Chapter 6 Patience

Chapter 6 – Patience

That Monday was one of the worst Monday's Lisa had ever experienced due to the slight interruption on her early Sunday morning. But she made it to school Monday morning – barely - and taught her classes without really concentrating on what she was doing.  
The only time the clouds in her brain seemed to clear was during her lunch hour with Andrew Stale who was himself surprised the small purple splotches forming under her eyes. She normally looked so healthy, if a little too thin as always. As she sat in front of his desk, her legs crossed beneath a long black skirt and her normal hardly dressed salad in her lap and a fork in her hand, she stared blankly back at him, her lips slightly parted.

Andrew didn't believe she realized there was any food in her hand at all. "Did you hear what I said?"  
Lisa blinked and looked down, seemingly surprised that she was holding her lunch. "I heard you but that's all, I think," she said, rubbing the purple circles. "I'm sorry, I didn't sleep well this weekend."

"The entire weekend?" Andrew asked, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his desk.  
"Mostly," she said with a yawn.  
"Is that because of your visit to the police station you told me about? How'd that go?" Andrew did his best to keep the amusement out of his voice but wasn't entirely successful.

"I met a very nice officer there who took the time to speak to me," Lisa said simply, choosing to ignore Andrew's implied sarcasm.  
Andrew's smile faltered a little, "A _nice_ police officer? What'd he say?"  
"The same thing everyone else is saying," she said with a shrug.

"So, what's your next move, Miss Fletcher?"  
Lisa narrowed her eyes at the poor attempt at humor and shook her head. "I'm going to let it be for a while. I'm not concentrating on the things I should be concentrating on." Another yawn and she stretched in her seat.  
"You're giving up?" Andrew said with a hopeful raise of his eyebrows.

"Absolutely not,"  
Andrew sank a little in his seat.  
"I'm going to get back to my life though. I have to. It's been fun, keeping my mind on something besides work but it's getting distracting. I think there will be something, though." She said with a far away look in her large eyes.  
"What do you mean?"

Lisa met Andrew's eyes for what seemed like the first time since she sat down with him. "Neither side has proved its point yet, Drew," she said, setting her useless salad on the desk and leaning forward as she spoke. "I haven't been able to find anything for or against the idea of Batman. So I figure, eventually, something's got to give somewhere." She said with a shrug of her narrow shoulders.

Andrew nodded in understanding. "That and it's tiring you out, being so stubborn." He smiled mischievously at her. She didn't return it.

--

"Little cherries all over?" Alfred asked as he cleared up Bruce's lunch from the work bench.  
Bruce nodded, suppressing a grin. He cocked his head thoughtfully at the plate of body armor he was repairing. "Well, the top had little cherries…and daisies I think. The bottoms were solid red," he said, gesturing to his legs for reference. "It was pretty cute," he muttered with a smirk on his lips.

"Ah, I see," Alfred said. "The poor girl must've been freezing on top of that roof wearing only her pajamas."  
"She could become a real problem and you're feeling sorry for her?" Bruce said with a raise of his eyebrows.  
Alfred shook his head wisely, "She's harmless, sir. And she'll learn sooner or later. 'When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'"

"I don't think Doyle took the personality of Lisa Dridgel into consideration when he said that." Bruce said amusedly as he attached the piece of plating to a section of tightly woven netting. "As far as she's concerned, nothing has been eliminated and she chooses to believe the probable. I can't say that I blame her."  
"If I may sir, perhaps you should help her to eliminate what's most likely then. It may force her to see what she believes is impossible and maybe save her another restless night."

Bruce sat back in his chair looking thoughtful as Alfred stepped away and out of the room, the corners of his mouth turned upwards. It would be an interesting task, to say the least. Bruce scratched his head, ruffling his hair as he considered some ideas. Although he had the wicked desire to do so, scaring her half to death in the middle of an alley way at night was going to be the last resort. After all, she meant no harm. Lisa was a very strong woman who was driven by logic even more so than hope.

There were other options he could explore and Alfred was obviously willing to help. It would be a good distraction when he had some free time anyway – help keep his mind occupied, which was always a benefit to him and to those few who chose to spend their time with him.

--

Weeks passed, bringing the city closer to the chill of winter and Lisa had gotten back into her routine at school. The kids no longer questioned her disbelief. Instead, it seemed that everyone who had tried to convince Lisa of Batman's existence had come to a silent agreement with her: I won't bother you about it if you don't bother me.  
She was far from accepting what we all knew then as the truth. But that small stint of stubborn determination had taught her one thing – it would be less stressful on her if she remained patient. For a reason even she could not explain, she believed that it would be proven to her one way or another sooner than anyone would have expected.

The prison escapee from County was still at large. Gordon and Batman's repeated attempts at his capture only resulted in those maddening riddles that gave clues as though from an inside source that nearly always led to dead ends. He was in hiding and that was the problem.  
It had taken them so long to capture him in the first place because of how illusive and intelligent he was. But he'd slipped up and they managed to find him. It seemed then, after his escape from that they would have to wait for him to slip up again and he would. They always did in the end.

Lisa sat alone in her office doing her preparation for her next class when she heard footsteps coming into the class room. It was probably Andrew again trying to catch her on Google or Wikipedia in search of more information on Batman. She smiled to herself. She was working on a future project for her freshman class who were getting into their Shakespeare unit and didn't even have an internet browser window open.

The foot falls came closer until they stopped at Lisa's office doorway. He knocked politely on her open door and Lisa glanced up with a raise of her eyebrows as to who it was. It was the grey haired man that was with Bruce Wayne when she'd first met him.  
"Miss Dridgel?" his accent was English in a wise and kind tone of voice.

Lisa nodded and got to her feet, "What can I do for your sir?"  
"Alfred, friend and man servant to Bruce Wayne," he said holding out his hand to her.  
"Yes, I think I've heard of you," Lisa extended her hand with a little suspicion as he took it and shook it in greeting.

"I am here to deliver this to you," he pulled a white envelope out of his coat pocket and set it in her hands.  
Lisa glanced at the crisp envelope then back at Alfred, closest friend to Bruce Wayne, some have said. So why would the closest friend to Bruce Wayne come and see her personally, much less deliver something to her?

"I can understand your confusion, Miss," Alfred said with a smile. "When he met you, Master Wayne took, shall we say, sort of an interest and he wishes to speak with you further. That," he pointed to the envelope in her hands, "is an invitation to his birthday party."  
Lisa gulped her shock back down her throat and stared at the nice old man. "He's inviting me to a party at his house?"

"That's the general idea, yes," Alfred said, attempting to keep his sarcasm in check.  
"Why?" Lisa demanded, pointing the envelope at him.  
"I believe I've already answered that question, Miss. Of course, it is only an invitation, not a set of orders." He patted her hand gently. "I hope you choose to attend."

Lisa looked at the envelope again as though it had done her a great injustice. "I guess I will," she said softly.  
"Excellent," Alfred he said happily and nodded his head to her, a sign that he was taking his leave and backed out of the room, leaving Lisa Dridgel, a head strong but insignificant high school English teacher with a baffling invitation to the birthday party of one of the most powerful men in the world.

--  
Author's note:  
I realized that I can't write a story about a rich, handsome, and powerful man without having a dinner party in there somewhere. Sue me!


	7. Chapter 7 Wayne Manor

Chapter 7 – Wayne Manor

The invitation didn't say 'Lisa Drigel plus one' on it or anything like that. It was a simple invitation – well, an expensive invitation but pretty straight forward none the less.  
Lisa had slipped the envelope in the waistband of her skirt after Alfred had given it to her. She didn't bother to actually open it until she was in her apartment (all the doors and windows locked tight and the lights on) and sitting on her bed staring at the innocent little envelope in disbelief.

The first thing she thought of was that she wouldn't go. Why on Earth would she go? She'd met Bruce Wayne once before. He seemed nice enough then but she had practically yelled at him. Her second thought was if she did go she'd want someone there for moral support and her thoughts immediately went to Andrew.

Her large eyes went back to the thick papered, cream colored invitation in her hand. It still didn't say that she was allowed to bring a date or a 'plus one'. But did they always have to say that? How would she know! She was used to living in a town where the nearest freeway was about a twenty minute drive from the house.  
No, she wouldn't invite Andrew. She wouldn't even tell him. If she did he would either try and find a way to come with her or he'd laugh…maybe.

It made her nervous, this sudden interest in her. Lisa could come up with two ideas as to why Bruce Wayne would have even considered inviting her to a party at his house. One, Alfred was telling the truth and that she had captured the gazillionaire's interest somehow – or two, he truly was a very bored rich person and just wanted some amusement by inviting her for some sort of joke. How horribly cruel!  
Well if that were the case she definitely wouldn't go!

Lisa sat the invitation on her bedside table and got to her feet. The sun was setting outside her window, the sky only partly filled with clouds as the red and orange light hit them, bringing the city back into its so familiar night.  
She stood at the window and watched the sunset, the light slowly dimming and reflecting gold in her brown eyes. She turned away from the window with a sigh and looked at her open clothes closet. There was nothing in there that she could possibly wear if she even decided to go!

--

The words 'fashionably late' didn't seem to apply to Lisa as she pulled up to the Wayne house hold in her decrepit old Ford sedan. The guests supposedly began to arrive at 7:00pm, it was now 7:15pm according to the digital clock in her car.  
Lisa wrestled herself out of car, doing her best not to ruin the long black satin skirt that she borrowed from another friend and fellow teacher at Wayne High. It was a size four but Lisa was so thin that she had to pin it up a little in the waist band anyway. She was also hoping that wouldn't leave a glorious hole in the lovely skirt.

Thankfully though, it was long enough to cover her ridiculous black flats which she wore due to logic more than for fashionable purposes. After all, this party was probably a very formal affair where people would be standing up most of the time and drinking champagne. Oh why had she come?

After locking her poor car, Lisa untwisted the deep blue collared blouse around her. It was really quite a find being the last one in her size at the local J.C. Penney. Hopefully, no one would notice. Lisa was pretty confident that the people she would run into at this 'shin dig' wouldn't touch the door of a Penney's with a ten foot pole.

The house itself was incredibly imposing, and the closer she got to it the stronger the urge to run away became. But she made it up the steps to the front doors and was greeted by the first familiar face of the evening. Alfred smiled genuinely as he saw her, looking quite lovely in fact as though she was at least attempting to allow the shell of her teaching self to crack a little.  
"So glad you could come Miss Dridgel," he said as she approached the entry way.

Lisa smiled gratefully at his reaction and also at the warm glow that seemed to emanate from just behind him. That was at least until an incredible horror breached her brain. "I didn't bring him a gift," she said in a choked whisper, staring wildly at Alfred who chuckled at her reaction.  
"I wouldn't worry too much about that, Miss," Alfred said and leaned a little closer to her, lowering his voice. "He's fantastically hard to shop for anyway."

Lisa swallowed and nodded as she came to realize what he meant. What kind of a present would you give a man who had everything? With her unstable calm returning to her, Lisa relaxed a little and stepped in, heading towards the room Alfred indicated.  
Candles were lit along with artificial lighting from two enormous chandeliers looking almost too heavy for the ceiling that held them. Lisa hesitated in the doorway, her thin fingers gripping the wooden paneling of the door until she heard her name.

She looked around and widened her eyes, "Jack?"  
Principal Spooner looking more shocked stood staring blankly at Lisa after he'd called her name. The glass of champagne was still in his hand as she walked up to him.  
"What are you doing here?" was all he could say to her when she reached him.  
"I was invited," Lisa said, trying not to bristle.  
"Really?" He didn't seem to think it was possible and that irked her even more.  
"Yes," was all she could get out when the alternative was saying something like, No, I was able to leap the wall and climb up to a balcony on the second floor and let myself in, thank you very much!

But it wasn't just the fact of her social status that surprised him that she was there. He did his best not to wince at the memory of Lisa almost yelling at Bruce the last time they met. But here she was, dressed up, apparently invited and standing in the home of one of the wealthiest men in the world.  
"Lisa," Spooner said, remembering his manners. "You remember Sonya," he said gesturing to the lovely dark haired woman wearing a lovely black formal standing next to him. Sonya smiled as both women nodded and accepted a handshake from each other.  
"I love your top," Sonya said, eyeing the lovely color. "Where did you get it?"

Lisa's eyes rounded as she tried to pretend where she remembered purchasing the garment as though she had enough clothes to forget what bargain bin she'd found them all in. "I don't really remember. I've had it for a while actually," she pretended to wince at her own fashion blunder.

As the Spooners returned to their conversation, Lisa stayed next to them but took the chance to look around the room. The walls were all dark wooden paneling that reflected the candle light and the light from above in a reddish-orange glow as though they were standing in a sunset. There was furniture in the large room, but hardly anyone was using it. A grand piano sat in one corner, light colored wood and, Lisa suspected, probably never played before in its life.

The crowd's chatter died down and everyone seemed to know which direction to face. Lisa followed along with everyone as Alfred slipped a glass of champagne in her hand with a nod of his head. With no cue or any signal of any sort the crowd of overdressed people burst into a loud rendition of _Happy Birthday_ as Bruce came into the room with the required smile and thankful nod.  
Lisa could barely see him above the tops of people's heads as she joined in the song. Once it was over everyone turned back to their original positions and struck up their conversations and shallow laughter again.

Oh _what_ was she doing there? Lisa continued to question her reasoning and still came up with no answer to satisfy her anxieties. This wasn't her type of party at all. Her type of party was a t-shirt and jeans at an Applebee's! She was seriously considering slipping away and finding a back door when Jack Spooner spoke up again.  
"Mr. Wayne, Happy Birthday sir," he held out his hand and Bruce shook it half heartedly.  
"So she came," Bruce said causing Lisa to finally have to look up at him. He was taller when she wasn't wearing her heels.  
Bruce smiled warmly down at her, "I'll have to apologize to Alfred. He said you were planning to come and I called him a liar."

Spooner and his wife chuckled appreciatively. Lisa glanced strangely past Bruce at them. She'd been around Sonya and Jack Spooner several times since she'd moved into town. They'd _never_ acted like such robots. Jack's tuxedo collar looked as though it were choking him, his face was so red.  
Bruce noticed Lisa's odd stare at the couple but resisted a laugh, "Lisa, it's good to see you again."

Lisa blinked through her glasses at him as her mind went blank of things to say. Interestingly enough, she could hold her own and speak her mind so easily when she was in her classroom but at a formal party, everything seemed to fail her. "Thank you for inviting me," she managed to say.  
"I bet you've been wondering about that," Bruce said in a lower voice.  
Lisa relaxed a little from the expression on his face, "I have."

"Well, actually, I'd like to speak with you if you're willing," he said, his hand at her elbow before she accepted. "Excuse us please, Jack, thanks," Bruce said as he guided Lisa away from the staring couple.  
"Don't look at them, don't do it," Bruce said gently to Lisa, sensing her need to see the expressions on the Spooner's faces. "I know it's remarkably satisfying but you have to show that you're better than the kiss asses."  
Lisa unsuccessfully held back a snort at his sudden casual talk. He brought her to a not so crowded part of the room, nodding and smiling at people who toasted him or nodded drunkenly at him on his way. He let her go as he leaned against the wall in a corner of the room next to the lovely piano.

Her defenses immediately went up and she folded her arms in front of her and looked at him expectantly.  
"You know what the mistake of inviting Jack Spooner to this is?" he asked her, nodding to the couple, now standing across the room and appearing to be in deep discussion.  
Lisa's brow furrowed at the odd question, "What?"

"The fact that he'll be expecting an invitation to every single weenie roast that goes on here now."  
"You have weenie roasts?" Lisa said, keeping her face serious.  
Bruce straightened his tux jacket and put his hands in his pants pockets, "We don't broadcast it but Alfred likes them."  
She couldn't hold it in any longer. Lisa laughed and tried to hold it in, her shoulders shaking as her fingers went over her mouth.

"You're welcome to the next one if you'd like," Bruce said casually making Lisa laugh harder.  
"Do I still have to dress up?" she asked.  
He shook his head, "It wouldn't go with Alfred's 'Kiss the Cook' apron."

"I'm in then," Lisa said, brushing her hair from her face. Yes, she had styled it down, a dangerous decision, but there was enough controlling product in it to kill a horse. At the moment it was in soft, smooth, gentle curls that collected at her neck and shoulders."Good," Bruce studied her for a moment before he spoke again and after her smile had faded. "I can't help my curiosity, Lisa," he said simply. "I guess that makes me guilty of having an ulterior motive for inviting you here."  
Lisa's face was completely serious by then and she was ready to figuratively lash out at him if necessary.

"I wanted to know what you've found out about Batman, if anything," he fixed her with a look that made all of her defenses die away one by one.  
Her shoulder's fell and she rolled her eyes exasperatedly, "Not much."  
"So you still think he's not real?" Bruce said evenly.

"I don't know what I think. I can't find proof either way," she confessed. "But I haven't been looking very hard lately."  
"That's not what you told Jim Gordon," Bruce's looked at her mischievously.  
Lisa opened her mouth to protest but they were interrupted. She watched Bruce's mouth break into a wide smile first but he was looking past her.

"Master Bruce," Alfred said. "I have someone here who insisted on seeing you."  
Lisa turned around and saw Alfred arm in arm with a petite young woman with short cropped dark hair, wearing a lovely deep green dress. Her head was held up but her eyes looked partly closed. Bruce brushed past Lisa and quickly went up to the young woman, wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the floor in a huge hug as she put her arms around his neck.

"I couldn't miss your birthday," she said as he placed her back on her feet again. "Alfred had to 'hide' me for about a half hour," she laughed.  
"It's so good to see you," Bruce said, taking her hand in both of his and kissing it as he lead her over to where Lisa stood looking puzzled.  
"Lisa, this is Anna Kingston, a good friend of mine," Bruce said with a grin.  
Anna smiled in Lisa's general direction as Lisa finally put two and two together. "Anna, this is a new friend of mine, Lisa Dridgel. She's a teacher at Wayne High."

Lisa held out her hand as Anna did and they missed wonderfully until Lisa compensated and found Anna's hand so they could properly greet each other.  
"It's nice to meet you Lisa," Anna's face turned to Bruce, who still held her hand. "You've got to stop bringing normal people to these things, Bruce. They'll get corrupted."  
"But I'm not corrupt," Bruce said, sounding offended.  
Anna made a face but didn't say anything as Lisa stared dumbfounded between the two of them.


	8. Chapter 8 Unconvinced

Chapter 8 - Unconvinced

The interaction between Bruce and Anna, a lovely young woman who was blind of all things, baffled Lisa to no end. She was very warm towards Lisa and her smile was incredibly contagious even though she never looked directly at what she was smiling at. But Bruce led her around and spoke to her casually, as though they were old friends. They caught strange looks and glances from Bruce's other guests as they slowly walked the perimeter of the room, Lisa in tow, just listening.

She had only known Bruce a short time but she believed he was never this attentive with anyone else. Anna had this…effect on him that she didn't even try to project. If she stumbled he was there quicker than anything in holding onto her and bringing her back up. If she was about to run into a table, a plotted plant, or something he saw it in time and put his arm around her shoulders, guiding her away from said obstacle. It was really, very sweet. Perhaps that's why they were getting the strange looks from people, Lisa concluded.

Bruce had somehow managed to guide them both out of the main room, into a corridor and into a small lounge where he invited them to sit and relax a little. He led Anna over to a sofa and sat her down before he sat next to her and Lisa lowered herself into a large chair across from them.

"Lisa," Anna said. It was partially a question. Anna knew Lisa had come with them but she was turning her head this way and that to pinpoint a more accurate location.  
"Yes," Lisa replied and Anna smiled in her general direction.  
"What subject do you teach?" she spoke conversationally, simply, genuinely.  
Surprised at the interest in herself, Lisa sat up and folded her hands, resting them on her knees. "I teach English and Literature."

"It must be interesting, teaching anything here," Anna said.  
"That's true," Lisa said with a small laugh. "They're good kids though. They deserve a good chance like everyone else."  
"What do you think of the city so far?"  
"It's much bigger than – "

Lisa stopped at a small chuckle from Bruce. He was slumped down in his seat and held a silly grin on his otherwise handsome features.  
"That's a little rude, Bruce," Anna said, elbowing him in the ribs.  
"No, I'm sorry Anna," he said, still chuckling as he sat up. "But Lisa thinks she's in a city full of crazy people."  
Lisa chewed her tongue and said nothing as a puzzled expression came over Anna's features.

"She doesn't believe Batman exists at all," Bruce said as though he were presenting the grand event to some variety show.

Anna's dark eyebrows slowly raised until they could not raise anymore without pulling her eyelids off of her eyeballs. She turned to face Lisa's general direction who was coming up with a plot of scandal against Bruce Wayne as she sat there. So _that's_ why he'd invited her there, to make a spectacle of her for his friend. Well, she wouldn't let it happen. She would just be honest.

"There is no proof of his existence," Lisa said as Bruce nodded and Anna's surprised expression grew more pronounced.  
But Anna was not a simple minded person. She was smart and thought things through carefully before she acted on anything, even when speaking. Slowly, her mind came to a conclusion of her own. "That makes sense," she said simply.

"What makes sense?" Lisa replied a little too sharply.  
"That you don't believe he exists. If you have been presented with no proof then why should you think otherwise?" Anna shrugged and leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs.

Bruce's eyes moved to her legs for just a moment before studying Lisa's reaction. It was a little surprised but grateful because of what Anna had said.

"Yes, exactly," she exclaimed. "Thank you, Anna."  
"I'm sure there are others in this town who have never seen any shred of evidence that he exists but for the most part, they go along with it anyway because it's what other people believe. You're smart, Lisa. You want your own proof." Anna's black heeled shoe slipped off of her heel and dangled in the air off of her toes.

"Thank you," Lisa said again with a satisfied smile.  
"I'm the same way. I'd want proof," Anna lowered her head, unfolded and refolded her hands multiple times before she finished her thought, "and I have had it. Batman is very real."

---

Lisa Dridgel left the party shortly after her conversation with Bruce and Anna Kingston, whoever she was. It had not been a pleasant evening all around and she _still_ couldn't figure out why Bruce had invited her.  
At first she had thought that Anna had been some sort of trap that Bruce had set for her just for the fun of it. But the way Anna had acted, giving her the benefit of the doubt, not trying to prove her point in any shape or form was not a sign of any kind of trap. Anna had simply told her what she believed.

_Obviously, I can't say that I've seen him,_ she had said._ But I have heard his voice, stranger than any I have ever heard before. I know his scent, I know how he feels – the touch of that strange costume he wears.  
__Of all people, I managed to get accidentally involved with some sort of underground gang war in the city. Batman rescued me no less than three times._

How on _Earth_ could that have happened? Anna didn't seem the delusional type but that was the only conclusion that Lisa could come up with as she drove home.

----

"It obviously didn't work, did it?" Anna said, playing with Bruce's untied bow tie that he had taken from his shirt collar about an hour before hand. The party had broken up late that night leaving he and Anna alone in the dark house by the small hours of the morning.  
"I didn't think it would. When I saw you were here, I thought I'd give it a shot," Bruce replied, rubbing his tired eyes.  
"I'm surprised you haven't done it the easy way," Anna said with a mischievous grin. Bruce gave her a look which she couldn't see but said nothing.

"Why haven't you gone out one night and –"  
"Scared the living daylights out of her?"  
"Well, why haven't you?" Anna said while trying to stop herself from laughing.  
"That's not what I do and you know it, Anna," Bruce said turning serious. "It'll be as you said – we both know that he's real so it's only a matter of time before she comes to find that out for herself."

Anna smiled and leaned against him, propping her legs up on the sofa as Bruce put his arms around her and closed his eyes.


	9. Chapter 9 Hide No More

Chapter 9 – Hide No More

Nothing was spoken about it after the night of Bruce's birthday party. Bruce, for one, had other things to concern himself with. Rumor was that the maximum security escapee was still out there. But he was close – very close by. The police station had received a large envelope in the mail the week after Halloween. It was a creamy yellow color and made of thick, expensive paper with the station's address written in loopy handwriting. There was no return address and no fingerprints.

After it was determined that nothing inside the envelope was potentially dangerous it was given to James Gordon to open it and examine the contents before handing it over to forensics. Inside was a thick black piece of foam board cut into a square, delicately decorated with a green border. In the center was the same loopy handwriting in verse:

_The time has come  
__to settle score  
__This silly Bat  
__can hide no more._

_Make it where  
__the books are thick  
__And young eyes watch  
__the clock go 'tick'._

_In this place  
__I lie in wait  
__Don't miss the bus  
__Or you'll be late._

There was nothing else with it. No signature, no trace of a print. The only clue was the match to the elaborate handwriting. That, however, was a clue only because it was purposeful. Gordon knew very well who was responsible for this supposed anonymous poem. The only obvious point of the riddle was that he was now after Batman. But where and when? Gordon just hoped that they would be able to figure it out before there had to be a list of casualties like there was last time.

----

"Perhaps it's a library," Alfred suggested as he entered the room again.

Bruce sat at his work bench, hunched low enough that his chin rest on the bench surface as he continuously studied the riddle written on the black foam board. Gordon had shown the signal the night he received it and showed it to Batman who took it for further study. It was only fair, according to Gordon. Batman deserved to look at it as he was listed as the main target.

Bruce's eyes never left the words but they were beginning to cross over each other in his vision as Alfred stood next to him. He blinked and shook himself. "Why would he want to confront Batman in a library?"  
"How should anyone know, sir?" Alfred said calmly. "You said yourself that he is nothing more than a maker of chaos, as they all tend to be."  
"Yes," Bruce said slowly, blinking at the black paper. "Why a bus?"

"I beg your pardon?" Alfred said.  
"'Don't miss the bus or you'll be late'," Bruce quoted. "And it seems like it would be a bomb somewhere too – "  
"Yes, the 'tick' reference," Alfred agreed.  
"But how would he get Batman with that? How does he know where Batman's going to be?" Bruce sat up and stretched as he rubbed his eyes.

"It may be that he plans to lure Batman to some place," Alfred said, reading over the riddle again.  
"But where?"  
"Unfortunately sir, I believe we will find out soon enough," he said with a frown.

----

That was absolutely enough! Lisa's face was red and her fists were clenched as she glared down the rows of desks in her class room. But she did not yell. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He probably has been yelled at every day of his life by one adult or another. Lisa wouldn't add herself to that long line of failed disciplinarians.  
She walked stiffly but steadily to the back of the classroom and stood next to the desk next to the window in the back row where she looked down at a certain fourteen year old with short, spiky, dark hair, a hand drawn tattoo on his neck, and the first efforts at facial hair on his chin.

"Ty," Lisa said.  
He looked up at her with black eyeliner around his eyes and a sly grin on his tinted lips. "Yeah, Miss D?"  
Lisa kept her flinch from being evident in present company. "I want you to come with me."  
Ty raised his eyebrows, still keeping the grin on his face and, "Why?"

That was it! No more of this crap!  
Lisa leaned down until she was eye level with him, her brown eyes flashing at him as her lips thinned over her teeth. "Because I told you to," she said in a low voice.  
The boy blinked several times as he absorbed what was happening and until his 'cool' had taken him over again. "Fine," he said with a shrug and got to his feet.  
Lisa left the rest of the staring class with instructions to read the rest of the chapter in their text books while she was gone. She took Ty by the shoulder, which he shook until her hand slipped away, and they marched out the door.

She walked just behind him and was prepared to break into a run in case he decided to do the same just to get away from her. But he didn't try and run. He walked calmly in front of her – walked being a loose term. Lisa never understood the strange way teenagers walked these days. It was like some sort of fake tripping motion as though they had a limp in one of their legs. What was strange about it mostly was the fact that people who _had_ to limp in order to get around would probably be insulted by kids with two perfectly healthy legs pretending to limp as they went down the street.

"Come on, Miss D. It's almost the weekend," Ty glanced over his shoulder at her.  
Lisa suppressed a smile. "You should have thought of that before hand."  
They reached the office and went in where Terry, Principal Spooner's secretary glanced up, informing them that Spooner was out for the moment and asked the two of them to wait in his office.

----

Three entered through each door way, chaining them shut behind them and knocking out the school security guards. Half a dozen more came in through the roof and set in the upper gymnasium. They were masked and wore all black except the right sleeve of all of their coats were a plain, pale green color.

He entered with three of his men through the main doorways, closest to the office after making certain that Spooner had gone in before him.

----

Lisa and Ty waited for over ten minutes. The bell was about to ring. Ty glances at his watch and rolled his eyes. He bounced his leg up and down as he sat, slumped in a chair in front of Spooner's empty desk. He smirked silently to himself as one of the school wide jokes about Spooner regarding his last name popped into his head.  
The voice of the Principal was just outside the door. He was speaking to Terry. Lisa crossed her legs in her seat and waited. Hopefully it would be over with soon.

In the office, Spooner accepted a fresh cup of coffee from his secretary who'd asked him how the meeting with the district director went. Oh, it was the same old things, what budged they would have for next year, the improvements he wanted for the school grounds and the –  
"Terry, what is it?"

Terry stared past Principal Spooner, her body frozen and her face covered in fear. Spooner turned around and was faced with a tall grinning man wearing a long cream colored coat and a green bowler hat on his head. At first he thought it was a mask but Spooner took a closer look and realized that there was just a great streak of solid black makeup across the man's eyes which made it so he could only see them when he had them open.  
"Who are you?" Spooner said, stepping in front of Terry.

---

"What's going on out there?" Lisa turned to the closed door looking disgruntled.  
"Sounds like somebody else came in," Ty said helpfully.

Lisa looked at him and avoided rolling his eyes as she stood up to check. Instinctively, she took a hold of the doorknob and turned it quietly, opening the door just a crack. Ty must've heard her gasp because he came up to the door and stood beside her.

"Holy sh –"  
Lisa covered his mouth, pulled him back inside and shut the door, turning the lock.  
"They've got guns! Not just guns, but gun-guns!" Ty said in a panic.  
"Sh, calm down Ty," Lisa said as she was trying to wrap her brain around the situation. Someone must be taking the school hostage or they were just planning to shoot up the place. Either way, Lisa was terrified.

"Miss D, what do we do? We're trapped in here," Ty had sunk down to the floor next to the closed door as his voice rose in pitch until it became squeaky.  
"We have to call the police," Lisa muttered and got to her feet. She marched over to the phone and picked up the receiver. There was no dial tone. The land lines to the school had been cut.

---

"I promised I would meet someone here, I hope you don't mind," the tall man wearing the hat said, still with the smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye.  
Terry leaned down as gently as she could and groped around for the panic button beneath her desk top but one of the men in the green sleeves noticed her and quickly made his way around the desk, grabbing her by the arm and twisting it behind her back making her scream as he held a hand gun to her temple.

"Oh, and did I mention, no police are allowed in this meeting?" the grinning gentlemen said. "Leave her," he ordered his man and Terry was released.  
"What do you want?"

---

Ty cowered in the corner of Spooner's office, folding his arms around his knees as Lisa pressed her ear to the door. A high pitched voice spoke of meeting somebody at the school. Then a moment later, a woman screamed. It must've been Terry. She hadn't been seriously harmed though, as far as Lisa could tell because she was able to hear a little bit of the secretary's whimpers through the door.  
What were they going to do?

Both Lisa and Ty looked up nervously as the final bell rang.  
School was out.

-----  
Note:  
Credit of the writiing of that fantastic riddle in this chapter goes to my sister, Cecily (narniadear). Thanks bunches!


	10. Chapter 10 Trapped

Chapter 10 - Trapped

"That's my cue," the man in the long coat said happily as he moved over to the desk, pushing Terry aside and making himself comfortable in the chair before pressing the PA button.

Muffled noises of the student's chatter, opening and closing of locker doors as they prepared to leave came into the office when the man in the coat and hat pushed a button on the PA system and cleared his throat.

"Attention all students," he said. His smile never seemed to leave his face. "Please note the large armed men standing in front of every exit with the doors chained and locked."

The noise in the hallway died down considerably, as the students listened and suspected a prank.

"No need to panic. My quarrel is not with you. So, if you will please return calmly to the classrooms you last found yourselves in, we can hopefully get this resolved quickly and as painlessly as possible."

He glanced out of the office window. Students were standing around, staring at each other and waiting as though the new voice were to come over the PA any moment and shout "April Fool!"

The man in the hat gestured that Spooner come over next to him. The principal moved stiffly and stood next to the desk where the smiling man in his green hat pointed a gun at his forehead and pulled him down to speak into the PA.

"Tell them," he said in a much darker voice.

"This is Principal Spooner," Spooner said nervously. "Please return to your last period class rooms immediately."

The man pushed Principal Spooner aside, "Or Mister Principal Man here will suffer for your disobedience. Do you understand, children?"

The kids in the hallway still hesitated in moving. Though they knew very well the environment they were in, it was difficult to realize that someone had actually succeeded in taking over the entire school. It was just one of those things that was more difficult to process than most.

"He's bluffing," Ty muttered to Lisa. They both stood next to each other at the closed door of the principal's office, listening to the conversation in the main office.

"They aint movin'," one of the men said who'd looked out of the office doorway.

The smiling man's eyes flashed as he continued to hold the button down to the PA system and pulled the trigger of his weapon.

Terry released a crying wail of a scream and fell to her knees as Spooner hit the floor. Lisa latched onto Ty, covering his mouth as they crouched down to the floor, squeezing their eyes shut. The PA system made the gunshot and Terry's scream echo throughout the school.

This was not happening. This could not be happening!

"Children, this is Principal Riddler speaking. You have until I count to three before I give the order to those large men with the guns to start shooting at whatever moves. One – two –"

Screams and the clamoring of feet took over the hallways at Wayne High as everyone, including staff members scrambled back to their classrooms.  
* * *

Bruce awoke to a dull light coming into his room. He looked at the clock. It was nearly a quarter to four. How long had he been out the night before? It must have been at least until dawn – maybe a little longer.

It wasn't, however, the idea of the late hour in his subconscious thoughts that roused him. It was the riddle. He sat up in bed, rubbing his hands over his face and hair then hunched his shoulders a little as he stared ahead of him in thought. Books, young eyes watching clocks, and buses – something he couldn't be late for.

Alfred entered a few minutes later with a sandwich and a glass of milk when Bruce looked up at him sharply. The butler stopped in his progress to the bedside table and tilted his head slightly at his young master.

"It's a school, Alfred," Bruce said, his eyes wide. "He wants to meet Batman at a school."

Alfred raised his eyebrows as he set the tray down. "But which school, sir?"

"I don't know," Bruce said as he climbed out of bed and found a pair of pants. "Get a hold of Gordon, and tell him that one of the schools in the area is a target."

Alfred nodded his head, and was out of the room in a flash.  
* * *

"Do you have your cell phone?" Lisa asked Ty moments after the gun had been fired and the students raced back to their classrooms.

Ty shook his head, his face pale and his hands shaking as he took them away from his head. He looked as though he wanted to speak but he couldn't get the words out. Lisa knew he'd had a cell phone. She'd seen him using it but perhaps he'd left it in his school bag at his desk.

She glanced around the room. As far as she knew the police hadn't been notified yet. Maybe some of the students had been able to get a call out without anyone noticing, but she couldn't be sure. She looked to the window and pulled Ty up to his feet.

They were on ground level so it wouldn't be a problem. She unlatched the window and slid it open as quietly as she could, constantly looking over her shoulder at the closed door where muffled voices were still speaking though their words were indecipherable.

"Ty, listen to me," she said. "We are going to climb out of here and I need you to get some help. Find a phone, or better yet someone in uniform, and tell them that the school has been taken hostage. You don't know who or how many men, but they are armed and all of the entrances are locked. Can you do that?"

He looked so young in that moment, like the fourteen year old he always had been beneath the dark makeup and demeanor. His face was pale and his eyes were large and round but he pursed his lips and nodded as he lifted his leg up and through the window.

After he helped Lisa out onto the grass he stopped for a second and looked squarely at her. "What are you gonna do, Miss D?" he said.

"I – " she stopped herself and held him back against the wall. Footsteps were heading towards them.

Lisa pulled at Ty's arm and they ran along the wall and around a corner, ending up in a small grassy area that held a few benches and a large maple tree. There was no one in the space aside from the two of them, but Lisa stopped and peeked around. There was another one of those men, dressed the same way and carrying a gun. They were patrolling the inside and the outside. So much for Ty going to get some help.

"It's another one of those men. We shouldn't try to leave," she muttered under her breath. "Come on, we've got to get back inside. I don't know what will happen if they find us out here." She pulled Ty along as she tried to remember which windows belonged to her classroom.  
* * *

Bruce almost smacked into Alfred on his way down the stairs. Bruce did not stop, and Alfred turned and walked hurriedly at Bruce's side.

"Most of the schools are already out for the day. But, Gordon was able to reach every main office in every school except for one."

At this statement, Bruce stopped, and stared unblinkingly at Alfred, who sighed gravely.

"It's Wayne High. No calls are coming in or out. No one can get a hold of anyone in the school. They're sending units down there now."

Bruce nodded once, and quickened his pace down to the sublevel of the house.  
* * *

"It's this one Miss D.," Ty hissed at her from a few meters ahead.

They were now in view of the back parking lot at the school. Ty stood at another corner, and poked his head around just enough for him to see. Another man with a gun was walking away from him towards the other end of the lot. He waited as Lisa came up behind him and peered around him.

They both held their breath and waited until the gunman moved to the end of the parking lot, and made his way around the back corner of the school.

"Go!" Lisa whispered at Ty as soon as the gunman was out of sight.

Ty sprinted past three windows with Lisa trailing right behind him, and stopped at one. Lisa caught up and looked inside. The lights were out in the classroom, and there was no one to be seen inside the gloom.

Lisa furrowed her brow and tapped gently on the glass of the window. She tapped again.

A head of sandy blonde hair shot up from below the window. All Lisa and Ty could see was a pair of frightened eyes, and a freckled nose. The eyes widened in surprise at seeing the two of them, and the boy stood up.

"Miss D.!" they watched him say through the glass.

At this exclamation, more heads popped up at the two other windows in the class room.

"Jacob," Lisa said. "I need you to open up the window, okay?"

Jacob nodded his head, and began unlatching the window as more of his classmates gathered around to watch. He pulled the window open, as Ty took a hold of the window sill and boosted himself up onto it, then inside.

Lisa doubted she'd be able to do that as easily, but she grabbed onto the sill and Ty's hands came around her wrists as she lifted herself up. Together they were able to pull her up onto the sill, and ease her into the class room with help from the other students. Her skirt suffered a rip in the process, but she was on her feet inside the dark room as Jacob closed the window and locked it.

"Miss D., is Mr. Spooner really – "

"I'm afraid so, Sandra," Lisa said to a petite girl with dark hair.

The class looked horrified at her blunt answer, and began to huddle together again below the windows in a corner of the room. She realized then that the class had proceeded with a Lock Down, though nothing had officially been put into effect. They all crowded together underneath the windows with the lights off, and the door locked.

She looked around at all of the incredibly young and terrified faces. No one had been called. There was no way anyone would know what's happened. Some concerned parents would attempt calling within an hour or so probably, but how long would it be until help actually arrived?

"Has anybody tried calling out?"

"We did, but no one's getting a signal. They must be blocking it somehow," Jacob answered.

Lisa brushed a clump of hairs that had fallen out of her bun back over her ear, and got to her feet again as she reached a decision.

"Ty," she said firmly.

"Yeah?" he said.

"I want you and Jacob to make sure the class stays safe. No one is to come in, and no one is to leave. Do you understand me?"

"You're staying with us, right?" Jacob asked apprehensively.

"No one knows what's happening here," Lisa tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "I'm going to try and get some help."

"Are you insane?" Ty asked bluntly.

"If you have any better ideas, I'm open," Lisa snapped back at him.

Ty, along with the rest of the class shifted uncomfortably in their spots.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Lisa said, trying to sound reassuring. "Nobody leaves under _any_ circumstances, do you understand?"

The class nodded as one unit.

Lisa, went into her office, took something out of her purse, and slipped it into the pocket of her skirt. She moved to the door, unlocked it, and checked that the hallway was clear.

"Make sure to lock the door behind me," she said as she stepped out.

The hallways were still brightly lit, and the echoed loudly with each step that Lisa took with her heeled shoes. Realizing this, she stopped, slipped her shoes off of her feet, and set them in a corner next to a row of lockers.

She continued walking in her knee high stockings, taking much softer steps that allowed her some stealth as she continued down the hallway. Lisa moved in the opposite direction of the main office, thinking that if she moved away from the center of the problem, she'd find a weakness further out, and would perhaps be able to escape and find help.

Everything was deathly silent as moved ghostlike through the corridors. The eerie feeling crept up on her and stayed, riding along with her on her back. She didn't meet a soul, and never heard a sound as she moved back through the school.

As she reached one of the weight rooms, the lights in the corridor flickered and went out, leaving her in darkness. Lisa blinked through the thick shadows in the windowless hall. She could barely see the shapes of the lockers along the wall in front of her.

Pressing herself against the wall, she reached into her pocket and wrapped her hand around something as she continued, sliding along the wall until she reached a corner. At the same time, she could hear hurried footsteps headed in her direction. Lisa smashed her body against the cold wall, and pressed herself against another row of lockers as the foot falls drew nearer.

He came around the corner in a rush, a black walkie-talkie held in his hand. The gun he held dangled at his side as he held the walkie-talkie up to his face, his pace slowing after he passed Lisa by.

"They're all out here too," he said, and continued walking, his boots clomping loudly down the hallway.

Lisa watched him, her heart thudding against her rib cage, until he turned another corner and was no longer in sight. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down, and turned the corner, just as another gunman was approaching it from the other side.

They stood facing each other, both of them too shocked for words. He, however, recovered first.

"What are you doing out here?" he said, lifting his weapon up to point at her as he stepped forward.

Lisa stood stock still, her entire body trembling as her eyes flitted from the man's face to the barrel of his gun. When he was only a few feet in front of her, she moved. Ripping her hand out of her pocket, she pointed a spray can in the man's face and pressed the button on the top. The MACE went directly into his eyes and mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut with a shout of pain, staggering back from her.

Lisa didn't stay to watch. She lowered the can and ran for it, back around the corner, down the dark hallway, as the gunman's shouts echoed after her. Footsteps were following, and closing in from in front of her. The first gunman she saw in the hallway was coming back around the corner just as she ditched into the first room she found an open door to.

Lisa flung herself into the room with a soft cry of fear, and ran across the smooth floor of the dark and open gymnasium. The bleachers were collapsed against the walls of the gym, leaving only the basketball hoops out in the open. Lisa raced across it. As she reached the half way point, her path was suddenly blocked by a great black figure that seemed to have dropped from the ceiling.

She screamed, but it was muffled in an instant as the bottomless shadow took a hold of her, and lifted her off of her feet, leaving only the dropped can of MACE rolling across the floor.


End file.
